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Martina Testen / Simon Šerc — Nokturno
(Bandcamp Pharmafabrik no#, 2025, CD / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2026-06-20

Nokturno Cover art

Simon Šerc is a Slovenian musician and composer, known previously to Exposé as the primary mover behind the project PureH, previously a band at some point, but now it’s just Šerc. Nokturno is a collaboration between Šerc and Martina Testen, an immersive one-hour sonic experience composed entirely of field recordings, and specifically recordings made from sunset to dawn, and a follow-up to their 2020 exploration of daytime sounds, Biodukt. There are eight tracks listed herein, but they all just flow together seamlessly — one will detect changes in what is being presented, but there are no rigid delineations to let one know what track they are on, or when that track has changed to the next one, which, when you think about it, is as it should be. Throughout this symphony of natural sounds, one will hear frogs, birds, owls, barking dogs, and wolves howling, insects of various kinds, and just about any other denizen of the nighttime hours. Recordings such as these must have taken months to compile, edit, and mix into a complete piece as presented here, but it also reveals a world seldom heard or even noticed by the casual listener, apart from things like the bells of a church at midnight, or a breaking thunderstorm, and how these events invite responses from various animals in the nighttime ecosystem. While little information is provided as to where exactly these recordings took place, it is more likely that they are the product of a number of different recording sessions taking place at numerous locations over an extended period of time. The overall effect is at once gentle, calming, and starkly observant of the simple sounds that open the doors of communication during the darkness between days.

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases

Related artist(s): PureH, Martina Testen / Simon Šerc

More info
http://pharmafabrik.bandcamp.com/album/nokturno

 

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